Having recently discovered just how good The Inkey List’s skincare range is – after using its Recipe Builder during lockdown – the brand has now released a range of super affordable hair care products.
It makes sense for skincare brands to release hair care lines because so much of having strong and healthy hair comes from how you look after your scalp.
As you can read in our guides on how to manage hair loss and how to make hair grow faster, it doesn’t matter how many serums you put on the ends of your hair, if you’re not paying similar attention at the roots, you’re fighting a losing battle.
This is because blood vessels across your scalp help produce the cells that cause hair to grow through the skin. Once the hair passes through the skin, it’s dead so it pays to look after the cells that develop this hair before it even becomes visible.
READ NEXT: How to make hair grow faster
What’s more, the follicles in your scalp from which the hairs grow control everything from how long your hair grows to whether its curly or straight.
As hair grows, it gets heavier and pulls on these follicles until they can’t hold it any more and it falls out. The more these follicles are looked after, the stronger and longer your hair can become.
And is where scalp tonics and treatments come in.
“Scalp is skin,” said The Inkey List’s co-founder Colette Laxton.”As such it needs attention and care. [With our hair care range] we have focused on using some of the most classic ingredients and given them a twist for hair and scalp care.”
As a result, many of The Inkey List’s hair care range contains ingredients you may be familiar with. The kinds of ingredients you find in everyday toners, moisturisers and serums.
Below we’ve listed each of the Inkey List hair products, how they work and what benefits they’ll bring to your hair care routine.
At the time of writing, the full range is exclusively available from Cult Beauty.
£12.99 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Best suited for: Damaged/chemically treated hair
Whether your hair is dry and damaged form over styling, too much heat or chemical treatments, The Inkey List’s PCA Bond Repair Hair Treatment promises to help rebuild and strengthen individual strands.
The formula consists of 10% Granrepair Powerbond – a clinically proven compound that strengthens from within the shaft by repairing hydrogen and ionic bonds. It also protects existing disulphide bonds from damage.
It also uses 0.2% Aquarich to boost glossiness and prevent split ends; 2% crodasone to protect hair from thermal damage; 0.2% heliogenol to tackle the damage caused by free radicals, and 2% betaine to condition and soften your hair.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£14.99 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Best suited for: Grey hair
With 1% Darkenyl, this scalp treatment promises to reactivate pigment in your follicles and ward against grey hair, alongside the same 1% Betaine found in the Caffeine Stimulating Scalp Treatment, to nourish and soften, and 1% panthenol to maintain moisture levels.
This is an overnight treatment which The Inkey List very boldly claims that it not only helps to pre-empt but restore loss of pigment.
This claim is backed up clinical trials, in which white and grey hair was reduced by at much as 56% when used consistently for four months.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£11.99 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Best suited for: Stressed-out itchy and flaky scalps
This treatment contains 2% salicylic acid to exfoliate and remove dead skin cells and impurities from the scalp, while a 2.5% concentration of FluidPure 8G helps soothe redness and calm irritation. A 1% concentration of panthenol then helps to maintain moisture levels for smooth lengths.
Salicylic acid is a common exfoliator and is often found in anti-dandruff products.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£14.99 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Best suited for: Thinning hair and hair loss
Clinically proven to reduce and prevent hair loss, this overnight hair treatment uses 1% caffeine powder to increase blood flow and invigorate stem cells, while 1% Redensyl and 1% Betaine help the hair to grow soft, silky and well-nourished.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£9.99 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Best suited for: Dry, frizzy hair
Hyaluronic acid has become a skincare staple. Produced naturally in our bodies, its main function is to help our skin, eyes and connective tissues retain moisture. When applied topically, it similarly helps restore and retain moisture in your skin.
The Inkey List’s Hydrating Hair Treatment does similar for your scalp and hair. It coats your hair without weighing it down and its 2% concentration of Resisthyal helps maximise shine and prevent breakages. Other ingredients include 1% Betaine to soften and 1% panthenol to furher hydrate.
FURTHER READING: The truth about the acids in your skincare
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£9.99 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Best suited for: Fine, lifeless hair
This hair treatment helps add volume and bounce to fine, lifeless hair through the use of 2% Keranutri, a compound which increases the thickness of hair, alongside 2% ACB Pisum Sativum Peptide which works to “fatten” each strand.
The Inkey List claims that this lightweight serum “not only makes hair appear fuller but thickens each fibre to maximise body and help fine or flyaway lengths to look lustrous.”
It’s 100% vegan and cruelty-free and is free from silicones, phthalates, sulphates, SLS, mineral oil, essential oils, alcohols and fragrance. You can read more about why this is important in our guide to clean beauty.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£7.99 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Best suited for: Curly hair
Developed with curly hair in mind, the vegan Chia Seed Curl Defining Hair Treatment makes styles look more defined by separate curls.
It contains 2% Procutigen Bond, which helps to hold your style while protecting your strands against chemical damage; 1% Mirustyle CP which tames frizz and keeps your curls bouncy; and 0.5% Phytanriol which reduces breakages.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£7.99 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Best suited for: Dull, damaged, frizzy hair
In the same way Vitamin C can help brighten dull-looking skin, this hair treatment is best for dull, damaged hair.
It contains 0.5% VCIP – which is a specific type of Vitamin C that comes in the form of oil – to repair damaged lengths and split ends, alongside 2% Lustreplex, which reduces frizz and makes your hair look more shiny by protecting it from humidity.
It also contains 1% Betaine to soften and nourish without silicones.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
£9.99 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Best suited for: Damaged hair prone to breakages
Due to the presence of Shea Oil, this treatment nourishes and replenishes hair without leaving it greasy or limp.
It wraps and conditions each strand with shea in the form of 10% Lipex Shealight and 5% jojoba oil.
This treatment works by mimicking the body’s own oils to help strengthen compromised hair, especially if it tends to break when you brush it.
Buy now from Cult Beauty
Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget